Editoria e Media
Benny Hill back on national TV after two decades
Alongside , the channel will deliver festive treats from the schedules of yesteryear including and Christmas TV specials from , and the team.
is the seasonal rebrand for , the archive TV channel broadcasting across the UK on Freeview channel 91, Sky channel 187 and Freesat channel 178. Many That's TV Christmas shows will also be available on That's TV's local TV network which is available in 20 areas of the UK on Freeview channel 7 or 8.
The first hour on That's TV Christmas today (Thursday 18 November 2021 ) at 9pm is a double billing of .
Other shows in the coming weeks include , the hidden camera show presented by prankster , which ran from 1986 for 20 years making it the world's longest continuously running hidden camera show. Neither The Benny Hill Show or Beadle's About have been broadcast by any TV channel in the UK for 19 years.
Benny Hill is sited as a hero by many modern comedians, including TV star and author who begged for more of him on TV, saying on Twitter in 2017: " ". Comedian of fame claims to have kept all his old Benny Hill VHS tapes saying: " ."
The late , writer of sitcom , told a Channel 4 documentary in 1998: " ", while comedian of fame commented: " ."
Benny Hill was a prime-time feature of British TV for four decades, first on the BBC and then on ITV where his shows ran for a further 20 years to 1989. At his height more Britons tuned in to laugh at Benny Hill than watched the moon landing and he won the first of multiple awards in 1954 when he was voted TV Personality of the Year. The Benny Hill Show received a total of 11 awards during his time with ITV and his shows were exported to over 140 countries. But these British classics, the rights to which are controlled by his Estate and Thames TV, have not been licensed to any UK broadcaster for nearly 20 years.
That changes tonight when That's TV Christmas launches for another 7-week run with a season of Benny Hill specials.
That's TV Christmas Head of Programming, Kris Vaiksalu, said: "
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Last year That's TV's Christmas re-brand attracted over 4.4 million viewers in the four weeks to 27 December 2020 (source: BARB). The channel has now extended its coverage and is available across the UK on Sky and Freesat as well as Freeview.
That's TV will display on-screen messages that bring to the attention of viewers that some of the content featured in the shows reflects the standards of the time in which the shows were originally created.
The Christmas treats showing on That's TV Christmas include:
Following the Christmas re-brand That's TV's normal services will resume with a brand-new schedule on 4 January 2022 .
was a British burlesque comedy-variety series in Vaudeville-style created by British entertainer Benny Hill that aired from 23 December 1962 to 26 December 1968 on the BBC and from 19 December 1969 to 1 May 1989 on ITV.
Benny Hill was born Alfred Hall in 1925 in Southampton and is remembered by family and schoolmates as the 'class clown'. As a teenager, he dropped out of school and worked as a milkman before serving in the British Army during World War II. During this time, he entertained the troops in variety shows and adopted his stage name, Benny Hill, in homage to comedian Jack Benny . Following the war, Hill performed in London music halls and got his break in TV after comparing a BBC entertainment show. His shows became a worldwide hit in the '70s, earning Thames TV £26 million from sales. Hill died in London in 1992 aged 68, two months after suffering a heart attack.
When Hill died, American actor Jack Lemmon said: " ."
ran on ITV from 1986 to 1996 presented by the practical joker, Jeremy Beadle . The show would play elaborate stunts and tricks on unsuspecting members of the public who were secretly recorded using hidden cameras. Beadle is credited with the democratisation of television, putting real people at the heart of his shows. The star was a huge supporter of Children with Leukaemia and raised more than £100 million for charity, earning an MBE in 2001. Beadle died of pneumonia in 2008 aged 59.
was an English comedian and radio disc jockey. After spells on pirate radio, he was one of the first DJs to join the BBC's newly launched Radio 1 in 1967. Everett subsequently joined Capital Radio in London after being fired by the BBC in 1970 for remarks about a Government Minister's wife. Everett was friends with celebrities including Freddie Mercury , the lead singer of Queen, who he met when presenting the Capital Radio Breakfast Show in 1974.
In the late '70s Everett brought his zany radio characters and jingles to television making four series for ITV (Thames) before being poached by BBC1. The ITV shows were famous for featuring dances by the performance troupe, Hot Gossip, who were choreographed by Arlene Phillips , who went on to become a Dame and serve as one of the original judges on Strictly Come Dancing. All of the Thames shows featuring Arlene Phillips' Hot Gossip, including the infamous New Year specials, will be broadcast on That's TV Christmas.
Comedian Michael McIntyre has described Kenny Everett his "other Dad" because of the friendship between his parents and the star. McIntyre's father was a scriptwriter on the Kenny Everett show.
Everett died in 1995, aged 50.
(which will display as "That's TV Xmas" on most TV sets) is operated by That's TV, part of the That's Media Group.
That's TV runs 20 local TV services and a UK national channel currently branded as , all of which are rebranding to from 18 November 2021 to 4 January 2022 .
That's TV's local TV services (Freeview channel 7/8) serve over five million homes in 20 UK conurbations. That's TV delivers locally focused news and information for each location alongside a network programming 'spine' comprising of nostalgic music, entertainment and documentaries.
That's TV's UK national channel launched in July 2021 and is now available UK-wide on Freeview channel 91, Sky channel 187 and Freesat channel 178. That's TV's UK-wide channel, branded as until 18 November 2021 , is the 'Home of Nostalgia' and primarily delivers comedy, music and entertainment and documentaries about the people and events of the last century.
As part of its charter for social responsibility, That's TV is accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as a Real Living Wage Employer.
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